Worn
by JPHBK
Summary: A Power Rangers(2017) short fic set about three years after the events of the film. A lot has happened in those years. Jason and Kimberly are worn, but they have each other.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Saban owns Power Rangers and the characters within, not I.

Jason Scott shut the door to his apartment behind him. Letting it slam a little harder than he intended. He let out a loud sigh and the flipped his keys over on the counter to his left. He took a few purposeful steps past the living room and kitchen and into the hallway on the backside of them. He stopped as a wave of pain crashed over his midsection.

Jason quickly peeled off his red t-shirt and discarded it on a table at the hallway entrance. He took a few more steps to his left and reached into a room and flipped a light on before fully stepping inside. His hands instinctively found the sink in front of him and he slumped his body forward, supporting his weight fully on the sink.

Jason stared at the drain of the sink for several moments, both as a tool to collect his thoughts but also out of dread at looking up into the mirror above him. Slowly he brought his gaze up and found he barely recognized the face looking back at him. It was as if a stranger had invaded his own home and was there taunting him from the reflection on the other side. Jason resisted the urge to slam his hand down on the sink in front of him, not wanting to shatter it.

"Ouch.." Jason audibly voiced as his eyes lowered to his multicolored sternum and abdomen. Dark blues, reds, and purples ran across nearly the entirety of what skin Jason could see in the mirror. He ran a hand tentatively down his chest and muffled curses under his breath as he came across the most tender spots. He stopped at the waistline of his jeans and then reached up to run some water from the sink. After a couple of seconds, he leaned forward and splashed it on his face.

Jason heard the front door knob turn and the door slowly release and push open. Jason reached over and flicked the light off to the bathroom and stepped out into the hallway. He focused his eyes as the sun backlit the front door from his spot down the darkened hallway. He caught a glimpse of her face and moved to retrieve the t-shirt on the table in front of him.

"Don't... let me see." Kimberly's voice came closer to him as she made her way towards the hall. Jason lowered his hands and waited for her to flip the light on. Immediately her eyes were roaming all over his bare midsection. After she had seen it she raised her gaze to meet his.

"Don't worry.." Jason began.

"I've never seen it this bad.." Kim responded, reaching a hand tentatively out to touch his stomach. She slowly recoiled it before it could graze the skin.

"We are all beat up," He countered as his eyes watched the movement of her hand.

"He targets you," She stated.

"Yeah," He agreed as they both took a step closer to each other.

"You take hits you don't have to," She continued.

"No," He replied. Immediately her face hardened and she prepared a counter-argument. He put his hands up in surrender. "Maybe sometimes."

"You don't need to do that," She stated.

"If Tommi were still here..." He began.

"She isn't... and that's not your fault," Kim quickly responded.

"I could have saved her powers," He said.

"And Trini would have been dead," She countered. He sighed and slumped his shoulders. After a moment she reached down and took him by the hand. He raised his eyes to meet hers. "Come on."

She led them back into the bathroom he had just exited from and flipped the light on. She opened the medicine cabinet and scanned it's contents, her hand with a firm grip still on his. After locating what she was looking for she broke her grip to reach up and unscrew the cap of the jar in her hand. She nodded towards the edge of the bathtub.

"Sit," She said as she ran a hand through the cream inside the jar. She glanced up to see him following her suggestion.

"You don't have to... it'll heal eventually," He protested.

"Not fast enough... not like it used to," She countered.

"His magic... it's more powerful... and he never stops," He stated. She nodded and then gestured for him to raise his arms. She then reached down and smeared some of the cream across his chest. He recoiled.

"I'm sorry... I'll be gentler," She apologized. He shook his head.

"It's just cold," He countered with his first grin of the evening. She couldn't help but reciprocate with one of her own before she began to work her hands in circles to rub the cream in. She dipped her hand back inside for more and then this time applied it much lower, attempted to soothe a particularly rough patch just beneath his belly button. He jumped once more as the more sensitive skin was reached. She stifled an audible laugh and glanced up to see him watching her intently.

"Cold?" She asked.

"Yup," He answered with a certain sparkle in his eye and sheepish grin she had grown terribly fond of over the last few years. She resisted the urge to kiss him and instead glanced down at her work once more satisfied that she had gotten most of the medicine rubbed in as good as she could. She straightened up and walked over to the sink to wash her hands.

"I'll smell like this stuff the rest of the night now," She stated as she vigorously scrubbed her hands.

"I could have done it..." He replied.

"You wouldn't have," She countered. She glanced over to see him shrug in agreement and stand up. Satisfied with the cleanliness of her hands she reached over to shut the faucet and off and then dry her hands on a towel. She felt him standing close to her now and turned to him. She took in his face, scanning it. She reached up and gently ran a hand through his beard. "You look tired."

"I need to shave," He responded as she glanced over in the mirror to see what several days of neglecting his face had accomplished.

"Right now?" She asked.

"Sure," He answered as he reached over and retrieved his razor from the sink top. He wetted it as she moved to his other side to allow him room. She watched as he applied some shaving lather on his face, turning to her when he had a face full of it applied. He winked at her, and she smiled and rolled her eyes. She was mesmerized as he went about taking gently strides across his face with the razor.

"You're kind of hot you know," She commented right as he was focusing intently on a spot on above his lip. He stopped long enough to grin before he continued the task at hand without a verbal response. She continued watching him until he finally reached for a towel to dry his face with. After a few pats, he turned to her.

"Better?" He asked. She shrugged. "Still hot?"

"Yes," She answered. He grinned, satisfied.

"Hungry?" He asked with a gesture towards the hallway.

"I need a shower first," She replied as she gestured behind her.

"Okay," He replied. She reached down and lifted her shirt over her head. He took in the bare skin around her bra and his eyes fell on some bruises of her own. He reached over to retrieve the bottle of cream she had used earlier.

"I would just shower it off," She stated, knowing he was offering to return her gesture.

"Sure?" He asked.

"Uh-huh," She answered. They locked eyes. He smiled. She smiled.

"I'm gonna go find food," He said as he backed towards the doorway.

"Okay," She responded as she slid her pants off. He exited and she turned to the shower to turn it on and get the water just right. After it reached the right temperature she felt his presence in the room once more and straightened up to lean back into him. She let herself be taken into his arms and smiled as her head found the crook in his neck and his lips found her temple. Their hands found their way to be intertwined once more. She felt his finger tracing the ring on hers.

"I love you," His words were soft but impactful. She closed her eyes.

"I love you too," She replied.


	2. Part 2

Kimberly plopped down onto the bed. Despite her slight frame, she felt the bed creak underneath her. She raised her arms above her head and stretched out her tired muscles. She closed her eyes and took a big breath, slowly exhaling it. She reached next to her to fumble for the phone she had had in her hand before lying down.

After a few empty attempts, she was finally successful in grasping her cell phone and bringing it over to hold it over her face. She swiped the screen and saw the messages. Trini, Billy, Zack, her mother.

Kim laid the phone back down and began to rub her exposed stomach. She winced slightly when her fingers ran over a bruised portion just below her belly button. She brought her hands up to rest them on her forehead as she felt sleepiness begin to overtake her and she closed her eyes.

Kim wasn't sure how long she had been asleep when her eyes fluttered open. She stole a glance over at her bedroom window to see the sun was down. She mumbled a little under her breath as she started to sit up and felt a catch in her back. She stiffened back out momentarily before making another attempt. This one was successful to get her up on her elbows. It was then she saw him in the doorway.

"Hey," Jason's voice was low as he locked eyes with her. He held her gaze for a moment before they moved down to her exposed stomach. She saw his eyes flicker with recognition upon seeing her bruises.

"Hey... I think I dozed off," Kim said as she sat up fully upon the edge of the bed. Jason moved across the room and stood in front of her. She looked up at him.

"You okay?" His tone was gentle.

"I'm fine..." She replied in kind. "The usual stuff."

"Let me see?" Jason asked as he knelt down in front of her. She reached down and raised her shirt. She watched his eyes move all over her bare skin. He let out a small breath of air before his eyes moved up to her.

"It's not that bad," Kim stated.

"Looks familiar," Jason replied, thinking upon his own battle scars. Kim nodded. He reached out and lightly touched her toned stomach. His eyes moving from her skin back to her eyes. "What was it you told me?"

"I've told you lots of stuff," Kim replied, her comment garnering a smirk from him.

"You have to stop taking them for the team," Jason said, echoing sentiments he had heard from her many times.

"I just wanted to give you a break," Kim replied as she reached up and ran a hand through his long blonde hair. He closed his eyes as the sensation felt nice.

"We've got him on the ropes," Jason stated confidently as he opened his eyes. Kim nodded in agreement. "Now that Tommy is back, things will get easier."

"I know," Kim agreed. Jason got on his knees in front of her and moved closer. He reached over to the nearby nightstand and opened it. Kim watched as he fidgeted around until he came out with a fresh bandage. She furrowed her brow.

"You didn't know you were bleeding did you?" Jason questioned as he saw the confusion on her face.

"Where?" Kim replied as she glanced down. His hand moved to her the line where her bra ran across her chest. He pointed. She saw it. "Oh."

"Guess it irritated it," Kim stated. Her voice a whisper. "I knew it felt tender."

"I'm sure," Jason replied as he went to work opening the bandage. His eyes met hers and she raised her shirt completely off unclasped her bra. His eyes met the wound that had been hidden. It was a particularly nasty gash. He was pretty sure he could remember the exact moment in the last battle it most likely happened.

"It's not to bad as she glanced down at it from her perspective.

"You keep telling yourself that," Jason responded with a grin. "I know how tough you are, you don't have to fib."

Kim smiled as she watched him go to work dressing her wound. His touch was gentle and she barely felt anything. Granted she was way more tolerant of pain than most, but still not even a sting. His eyes would move from his task to meet hers and back again. Each time it prompted a familiar flutter in her stomach, that he had been giving her for years now.

"I really missed when our armor actually prevented this stuff," Jason finally broke the silence as he smoothed out the bandage and let the adhesive do its work.

"Yeah... well, that was pre-Zedd," Kim responded. Jason nodded and Kim caught an expletive from him said under his breath. She reached out and placed her hand on his cheek. He looked up from the bandage to her. She smiled at him in an attempt to calm him. It worked as he gave her the smile she found herself craving daily. "Thanks, Doctor."

"Ha... well... I don't know about that," Jason started as he stood up in front of her. "But you are welcome."

Without a word he moved over to a nearby closet and pulled a shirt off a hanger. He came back with it outstretched to Kim. She smiled, it was the exact one she wanted to wear right now. Loose-fitting, comfortable and allowed her tired body to breath.

"Thanks," Kim said as she took the shirt from his hands she laid it in her lap and looked up as he removed the nice shirt he had on to retrieve a tank top from the back of a nearby chair. "I was gonna make dinner... but I kind of fell asleep."

"I got it," Jason replied as he turned to her with the shirt in his hands. "Anything, in particular, you are in the mood for?" Kim's mouth curved into a smile. He closed the gap between them, picking up on her cues and bent down to her. She met him with a kiss. He deepened it. She reciprocated.

Kim found herself lying back on the bed once more, but this time Jason was hovering over her. She couldn't take her eyes off him. She reached up to brush away some of his unruly hair that was in his eyes. His eyes moved all along her face and neck, planting kisses as he went.

"Maybe we can... uh..." Jason began. "Maybe we can order in later... if that's okay."

"It's perfect," Kim responded before finding his lips once more. His smile under her lips made the pain and the tiredness all fade away.


End file.
